The bathroom door swung open.
Amidst the swirling steam and the scent of fragrance, Su Mumu stepped out. She was wearing a nightgown so thin it was translucent. She used a towel to gently pat her hair dry.
The screen of her phone by the bedside was still glowing. Su Mumu remembered turning it off. When she saw the flurry of messages from Jiang Mengxin on the screen, the expression on her face froze.
“Heavens, so many messages…”
Su Mumu hurriedly tapped on the screen to reply. After chatting for about thirty minutes and agreeing to go on a date tomorrow afternoon, Jiang Mengxin finally went to sleep.
Su Mumu’s hair was mostly dry by then. She lay back comfortably against the mattress and let out a yawn. Once her brain entered a vacant state, her thoughts began to wander.
‘Xin Xin really is a bit strange, isn’t she?’
‘Will I one day… completely turn into a fox demon?’
‘What exactly is… this sword spirit inside me?’
Su Mumu directed her questions toward the ceiling. The only response she received was the whistling of the cold wind outside the window and the pale moonlight spilling across the floor.
There were just too many questions lately! It was truly anxiety-inducing.
It was so annoying…
Su Mumu rolled onto her side and suddenly hugged the duvet tight, seeking a shred of security.
“Meow—” Tangyuan had crawled up to her pillow at some point.
Two pairs of eyes stared at each other from a short distance.
‘You little guy, are you here to encourage me?’ Su Mumu found it a bit funny that she would one day need encouragement from a cat.
“Meow—” Tangyuan nodded his head with a surprising amount of intelligence.
“Speaking of which…” Su Mumu’s gaze suddenly landed on the cat’s paws.
They were snow-white, fluffy little kitten paws. Su Mumu looked at her own right wrist in a daze. Then, she gave a self-deprecating laugh. ‘Well, how could that be? It must be a coincidence, right?’
The cat paw in the sword cultivator dream… was probably the incarnation of something else. How could it be Tangyuan?
“Meow—” Tangyuan closed his eyes and began to snore.
“You sure fall asleep fast,” Su Mumu couldn’t help but complain. She rolled back over and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling.
In any case, there was no point in worrying further. She needed to let her body rest!
Su Mumu tucked herself in, and after making sure the cat wouldn’t fall off the bed, she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing.
***
It was a night where sleep did not come easily.
Because she hadn’t slept well all night, Su Mumu ended up sleeping until well after noon. This had become a common occurrence for her.
The phone on the nightstand began to ring.
‘Who is it…’ In her daze, she reached out and grabbed the phone, instinctively tapping to answer without even opening her eyes.
“Mumu, you’re not up yet? Help me open the door, I forgot my keys.”
Su Mumu blearily threw back the covers and got out of bed barefoot. With staggering steps, she turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.
*Whoosh.*
The cold wind from outside immediately rushed in. Su Mumu couldn’t help but shiver. Her muddled mind cleared up instantly.
Jiang Mengxin nagged her earnestly, “Put on some shoes! Put on a coat too.”
“Xin Xin, you’re so nagging…” Su Mumu turned around and tried to dive back into her blankets.
“Let’s go, let’s go! We’re going out to play! Stop sleeping!” Jiang Mengxin entered the room and closed the door.
“Fine… let me change my clothes first.”
“Okay.” Jiang Mengxin stood quietly to the side, waiting.
Gradually, the atmosphere became a bit awkward. Su Mumu’s lips twitched. “Could you… avoid for a second?”
Jiang Mengxin was confused. “Why?”
“I… I’m not wearing any panties,” Su Mumu said.
“It’s fine, I don’t care,” Jiang Mengxin replied.
“I care!” Su Mumu glared at her.
“Alright, alright.” Jiang Mengxin turned around and muttered softly, “Our relationship has grown distant… she won’t even let me look anymore.”
Su Mumu’s brow throbbed. She couldn’t help but criticize in her heart: ‘This isn’t about being distant! This is being too close! Besides, you never looked before either!’
As expected, Su Mumu’s judgment from last night was correct. Something was definitely weird about Jiang Mengxin. It was an indescribable weirdness.
There was an excessive kind of gentleness—the kind that crossed a line. She was as nagging as a mother, yet she possessed a strong sense of possessiveness like a lover…
Well, the possessiveness might just be an illusion. But the nagging was definitely real!
As they strolled along the paths of the Xianzong, Su Mumu pondered these things.
Jiang Mengxin was currently explaining seriously, “Remember, from now on, you have to wear shoes regardless of the season, otherwise it’s easy to catch a cold.”
“Mumu, your constitution is so weak… and it’s best to shower and wash your hair early, don’t wait until night…”
“I know, I know…” Su Mumu replied like a machine.
“Also, you have to reply to my messages instantly! If anything happens, you have to report it in time!” Jiang Mengxin added.
“…Understood.” Su Mumu nodded blankly.
“Hehe, Mumu is such a good girl!” Jiang Mengxin suddenly grabbed Su Mumu’s arm.
“Hey… something swallowed my arm!” Su Mumu gasped in shock.
“How rude!” Jiang Mengxin’s face flushed.
‘Emmm…’ Su Mumu discovered that her strength was so meager that she couldn’t resist at all.
She stole a glance at Jiang Mengxin beside her. Before she could be caught, she quickly looked away. She still felt like Xin Xin was being strange. Normally, would she… tease people like this?
‘Well, this feels more like she’s acting spoiled…’
The destination of this trip was the very edge of the Xianzong.
This area happened to face the back gate of the sect, and as a result, a Gourmet street had been built here. It was the place with the most foot traffic.
Su Mumu had never been here before. She looked around with a hint of wonder.
There were endless stalls on both sides, ranging from fried noodles to fried skewers and then to ice cream… The endless stream of delicacies made one’s mouth water.
In the sea of people coming and going, they held hands and leaned close to one another. The glow of the lanterns reflected on their faces, sometimes feeling a bit dazzling.
Su Mumu bought some cotton candy, and the two of them shared it. By the time they reached the end of the road, the cotton candy was gone.
“There are so many games too?” Su Mumu looked curiously at the stalls in front of her. All sorts of simple, easy-to-play facilities were available.
Among all the stalls, there was one that was the largest and most extravagant, surrounded by a crowd of people.
“What’s over there?” Su Mumu asked.
“Whac-A-Mole, maybe?” Jiang Mengxin suggested. “Mumu, do you want to try?”
“I… I don’t think I can do it.” Su Mumu felt a bit embarrassed. With her current lack of strength, she was afraid she wouldn’t even be able to swing the hammer.
“I’m a bit interested, let’s go together?” Jiang Mengxin was eager to try.
“If Xin Xin wants to…” Su Mumu nodded.
As they walked over, the crowd automatically parted to make a path.
The stall owner greeted them with a jovial smile, “You two young ladies are truly beautiful. Do you want to try Whac-A-Mole? The first play comes with one divine hammer!”
‘What on earth…’ Su Mumu complained in a low voice.
In front of them was a huge, strange machine. From time to time, mole dolls would pop out of it. The speed at which they rose and fell was incredibly fast.
Looking at the surroundings, it seemed that everyone there was a failed challenger.
‘Can I do this?’ Su Mumu felt a bit apprehensive.
“Try it,” Jiang Mengxin said.
“Alright, ladies!” The owner clapped his hands.
Soon, Su Mumu had a hammer in her hand, taking the lead.
“Good luck, Mumu!” Jiang Mengxin stood to the side, acting as a cheerleader.
“Emmm… this is so heavy…” Su Mumu managed to lift the hammer with great difficulty, but she couldn’t keep up with the speed of the moles at all.
Several times, she swung and hit nothing but air.
“Use more force, speed it up!” Jiang Mengxin urged.
“I know!” Su Mumu summoned all her strength. This time, she had to hit it!
As she lifted the hammer for the fifth time, she took a deep breath, building up her momentum. However, perhaps because she had overexerted herself earlier, her wrist suddenly cramped.
The pain caused the direction of the hammer to shift drastically. It swung all the way toward her back.
*Clang!*
By the time Su Mumu realized, it was too late. The hammer landed with a loud thud right on the head of a middle-aged woman behind her.
“Ouch!!!” the middle-aged woman screamed in pain.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… my hand just cramped…” Su Mumu apologized hurriedly. When she raised her eyes, she was suddenly stunned. “Ms. Hippo?”
“Su Mumu!?” Ms. Hippo clutched the large bump on the top of her head, absolutely furious. “It’s actually you!?”